At the end of last year, I wrote that 2018 had been a year of work.
If anything, in 2019, things only got more intense. My day job was busy, with the launch of two huge projects, one of which I was leading on. The same week that project went live, my debut novel was published.
That means I spent a large part of the year putting in the hours, often getting home from the office and then working until late, sometimes even 1am. It’s been exhausting but it’s also been rewarding.
I’ve also spent a lot of the last year immersing myself in politics and current affairs, which is pretty much a dystopian nightmare at this point. While things aren’t great at the moment, I’ve definitely become more engaged politically and hope to reflect on this more in my writing and make whatever small changes I can to impact things like climate change.
But my year has mostly been about…
Writing
This is the year I finally got to call myself not only a writer, but an author. My debut novel, The Disappeared, came out in May and I’ve been fortunate enough to do a host of events in the North East – and even one in London – talking about the book and writing.
I’ve spoken at libraries, bookshops, book and writing groups, festivals and on panel discussions. What surprised me the most is just how much I’ve enjoyed doing these events. I guess this is the distinction between writer and author: I’ve discovered my author side, which enjoys public speaking and even marketing my own book.
All these events have meant plenty of networking and I’ve been honoured to meet so many wonderful and generous people in the industry, from other writers to agents, publishers and booksellers. Thank you to everyone who has been so supportive this year and everyone who has read the book, you’ve no idea what it means to me.
I managed to sell a respectable number of copies in the book’s first six months – not exactly bestseller status but I surpassed the targets I set myself and earned some royalties, so I’m happy with that.
Reading
I’ve finished 31 books this year and started a few others that I’m done with yet, including Ducks, Newburyport – at 1,000 pages I think I can be excused for reading slowly!
In the past, I’ve averaged over 50 books a year, so this year’s total is much lower. Reading has been tough this year, but I haven’t had as much time or brain space to dedicate to it, thanks to the time I’ve spent working.
It’s been harder to enjoy reading and I’ve struggled to focus my brain when it comes to starting new books, often picking up things I’ve read over and over or just as quickly putting a new book aside if it hasn’t grabbed me. Next year, I’m hoping to immerse myself in reading for pleasure again.
Travel
As with last year, the trend of travel ebbing has continued. I went on some brilliant trips, but they were short, with the longest three nights, and we mostly stayed in the UK. This year, I visited Amsterdam, Appleby-in-Westmoreland, London and Gdansk, as well as a couple of local hotel stays for special occasions.
I also failed to revive the travel blogging that I used to enjoy so much. I’ve been meaning to write about some of my trips – there are things from 2017 that I’d still like to blog about – but I never got round to it. Maybe next year…
Blogging
As well as blogging less about travel, I’ve blogged less in general this year. With everything else so busy, I’ve just had less capacity to write online, but that does seem to be a broader trend. I follow a ton of blogs and used to spend my lunch breaks at work reading through them. The majority of the blogs I follow have either been abandoned or now only post intermittently, so even my blog reading has gone down.
But I’m not going to stop posting here. It’s been a huge part of my life over the last few years and I still plan to share regular updates, although writing stuff will mostly be the higher priority.
The focus on the blog this year was very much my book. I decided in January to start an interview series, focusing on other debut authors. That series continued throughout the year and I really enjoyed having the opportunity to speak with so many amazing writers and find out about their books.
Looking Back at the Last Decade
There are only a few hours left before we reach 2020 and the internet is full of people listing their achievements from the last decade and how their lives have changed. Here are a few of mine:
- Got engaged
- Got married
- Bought a house
- Wrote two books
- Crowdfunded and published one book
- Got a dog
- Worked in seven jobs, including various art and culture venues. The decade began and ends with the two longest term positions
- Started this blog and kept it running for over seven years
- Won a Northern Writers’ Award
- Longlisted in the Bath Novel Award
- Shortlisted in Route Publishing’s Next Great Novelist Award
- Longlisted in the Not the Booker and my book got a (very brief) mention in the Guardian
- Runner up in the Best Arts and Culture Blog at the Blog North Awards
- Won Best Arts and Culture Blog in the Northern Blog Awards (not the same as the above!)
- Travelled in Europe, Africa and North America
- Went to tons of amazing gigs, theatre and arts events
Looking back at the last 10 years, so much has happened. Taking a step back and making a list definitely helps me appreciate the things I’ve done and the life I have.
Fingers crossed the next 10 years will be full of amazing moments and opportunities too!